Category: Local Search Marketing Workshop

With the competition that people experience in marketing online, at times it can be helpful to team up with another company to get the most out of your advertising efforts. Piggybacking is a type of support or help that you get from someone else to reach a particular goal. Working with another company in various ways can help each business increase their rank or communicate with customers online.

Using the help of another company through piggyback marketing can have many advantages because it is a lower cost type of marketing strategy. Instead of spending a significant portion of your budget on marketing costs, you can advertise smarter by using piggyback strategies. Piggyback marketing is a way to keep costs down while still employing effective techniques that will be beneficial to your business.

The concept of piggybacking is essentially when two companies with non-competing products set up a marketing plan that is mutually beneficial to them. It helps marketers gain entry into a specific target market by introducing their product in a natural and comfortable way to customers. In online marketing piggybacking could mean getting your content published on another company’s website or adding popular brands to your own so that the two companies both see more traffic.

The Keys to Effective Piggyback Marketing

Before getting involved in piggyback marketing it is helpful to have a good idea of what your target market is so that you can find the company that will be most effective for you to team up with. If you have a great understanding of your target market it will make it much easier to narrow down how you will execute your piggyback marketing strategy. When thinking about your target market, try to consider existing and potential customers that are most likely to purchase your product or service.

If you know your target demographic and the group that is most likely to be interested in your company then you can find another brand that has a similar demographic. If your target market is older adults then it won’t be effective to piggyback with a company that focuses on teens. You will need to find a business that is not necessarily a competitor but markets to similar groups.

It is also a good idea to time your piggyback strategy for the right moment when you think people are more likely to buy. This could be based on the type of products you sell and when the target market will be interested in buying them. If you have seasonal products or items that are used in specific periods of time then you can launch your piggyback campaign at the right moment to get the most impact.

Another key element of piggyback marketing is being able to convince the company you want to work with that promoting one another will be mutually beneficial. This means being a good salesperson so that people will be interested in working with you and will be willing to follow your requests for advertising them. You need to be able to offer something to them in return so that both companies benefit from the arrangement.

Online Piggyback Marketing

As a marketing strategy, piggybacking can take many different forms depending on what each company is looking to get out of the exchange. With online piggyback marketing it can involve having something published on another company’s website or having them repost your content on social media. For businesses looking for more exposure online it is best to partner with a company that is considered high authority and has the power to boost traffic for you simply by posting about your products or what you do.

Approaching another company about piggybacking can be a great way to network with other businesses and create lasting partnerships. You can learn effective market strategies from another company with more experience and a bigger audience as you continue to work with them. Connecting with another company gives you a chance to plan your marketing strategy with the help of someone else that knows what tactics work best.

Piggybacking online can be a simple one time post or a longer partnership that will benefit both companies. You will need to plan your piggybacking campaign in a way that it has the most impact either through timing it well or extending the partnership so that you receive more traffic from each other. It is important that both parties are experiencing a boost in order to keep the campaign effective.

Getting involved in piggyback marketing can be an effective and affordable way to increase rank, boost followers or get more exposure for your brand. Finding the right audience and the right company to work with will ensure that your piggyback strategy will help you and the other company build a bigger presence online.

My trip to Google was great! It’s always inspiring to visit a Google office. I’m blown away that this company was started by two guys going to Stanford just twenty short years ago. Emarketed and Google are the same age! But in case you didn’t know, we’re much smaller. 😉

Due to the nature of the content and method the trainer used to coach us, it was tough to capture it live on social media. So here’s a recap:

Interestingly enough the event didn’t promote Google at all. Besides the free swag and being in the cool space in Santa Monica, I was not pitched on Google. At previous visits it was a pitch fest.

The event was all about leadership and coaching. Our coach for the day was G.A. Bartick. He’s been consulting with Google for the last 5 years. He was great! He kept us engaged for the day and memorized all our names (there were about 30 in the room). He would call on us throughout the day so we had to be on our toes. Because of this, most of the room was present for the talk (I.e. Not checking email/Instagram/texts every 2 minutes). It was a good strategy for sure to keep the room engaged. He told us his secret for memorizing our names. Here it is:

Step 1: Listen – Really hear the person when they give you their name. If you’re like me, you can forget within a nanosecond. So he said you really have to listen and be present.

Step 2: Name Association – Think of someone you know in your life who already has that name and link the two. Or make something up that’s funny. I tried it out later that day when I met a guy named Jesse. Since no Jesse’s came to mind, I thought of him as the legendary outlaw, Jesse James. Another example from the event was a lady named Tiffany. He pictured her with a ton of sparkly jewelry all around her.

Step 3: Repetition – Try and use their name a few times when you first meet them. Don’t overdo it, but do say it a few times. You can overdo it in your imagination. So with Jesse, over the course of a few hours, I repeated his name several times to myself. And now it’s stuck.

The role of a coach/manager IS to continuously improve the performance of the team. Something he suggested we do at the end of each day is ask ourselves if we improved our team.

More highlights from the day:

Catch people doing more things right and fewer things wrong.

Coach to the future, not to the past.

Managing expectations can be broken down into 3 key components:

Set

Monitor

Reinforce

The Skills Transfer Process – With this one, he gave an example of doing a sort of trick with transferring a pen cap to different hands. He showed Larry from the audience how to do it and then walked away. Larry wasn’t able to get it. It was clear that was the wrong way of managing this process. Then he went through the below process which was clearly the better way to manage.

Explain

Demonstrate

Practice with Coaching

Observe

Feedback

One on One’s – His organization advocates doing them monthly. I’ve been doing this quarterly for years with my staff but have been lax over the last 12 months. The monthly plan sounds like a lot of work, but it does feel like the right way to go. He gave us a short process we can follow:

Purpose of the meeting

Outline

Last month’s action items

Last month’s goals

Last month’s results

This month’s goals

This month’s action items

Input – As you explain what you’ll be going over for the meeting, you ask if there’s anything they’d like to discuss.

Transition – Is it okay if we start…

He also asked the person that we’re reviewing to take notes and send this to us after the meeting. This is good for many reasons such as a paper trail of the meetings and to make sure they’re listening and on the same page.

And lastly be the tortoise not the hare. Check out the video! Don’t rush things. Be present. Be yourself. I really liked the video and discovered it was created by Issimo.

Thanks for taking the time to read my recap. I hope you have a fantastic rest of the month!

The marketing world is constantly changing, especially with the impact of digital marketing, this industry its more exciting than ever.

It’s important to stay ahead of new trends rather than linger slowly behind and utilize outdated or ineffective marketing methods. Attending a marketing conference can not only put you first in line to hear new ideas but also meet others that want their business strategy to be ahead of the trend.

Each conference can emphasize a different aspect of marketing and attending one that fits your needs is important. Whether it be about social media, seo, marketing technology or marketing strategy you will leave the conference with a better understanding of this every changing industry and a solid plan of action to hit your goals.

Check out these sites to find out about the latest marketing conferences:

What Exactly is Google My Business?

Since Google Maps, Google Local, Google+Local and Google Places, Google’s local landscape has been broken and pretty much a lost cause if something was wrong with your listing(s). Google My Business officially launched on June 11, 2014 and its goal is to solve all these problems. “Google My Business puts your business info on Search, Maps and Google+ so that customers can find you, no matter what device they’re using.” In short, Google My Business is a one-stop shop for businesses to manage their Maps, Places and Google+ account. Hooray for a fully integrated dashboard for business owners!

How Can I Share Successfully?

You might have gotten an email from Google with some tips for successful social sharing:

Keep it fresh

Share news about your business, local community and more. Keeping up with current events means that you are relevant to your audience.

Promote exclusive deals

Use Google+ Events to share special offers and deals that are exclusive to only Google+ users. This helps customers feel value in following your business online.

Be visual and share high-quality photos

Record and showcase a video recording

Video time! Film a webinar, Q&A session or just a behind-the-scenes tour and use Hangouts to broadcast the recording of your business at work.

Respond to your customers

Use Google My Business as a platform to create dialogue and respond to comments, both negative and positive. Google also encourages reciprocating by following your followers back.

What Does It Mean for My Business?

View Google’s video intro for Google My Business below and notice how they emphasize their effort to help small businesses. They also highlight customer engagement is an essential part of a business’ success. “Unlock the full potential of Google and find your people.”

Setting up your business correctly on Google My Business is just the initial part of the puzzle. The first part can be the hardest and you want to make sure that everything is setup correctly, as to not cause confusion with local in the future. There is maintenance that is necessary to grow customer engagement, as well as good content and SEO to strengthen those social signals. If you have any questions on how to use Google My Business or how it will affect your Google+ marketing plan or social media marketing in general, contact us today for a free consultation. All in all, this is a good sign for businesses and will hopefully work better than their past local/social endeavors.

Keeping Up With the Evolving Digital Landscape

Lisa Gevelber,
VP of Americas Marketing, Google

The world is changing. The evolution of technology is giving people the opportunity to do extraordinary things. We’ll share how Google is evolving alongside this changing world, in the way it thinks about its brand and its marketing.

The Zero Moment of Truth: Reaching Customers When It Matters

John Nicoletti,
Director of Agency Development, Google

Whether we’re shopping for corn flakes, concert tickets or a honeymoon in Paris, the Internet has changed how we decide what to buy. We call this the Zero Moment of Truth, and we’ll share how this changes the way businesses reach their customers. We’ll talk about reaching the right customers when it matters, with the right message, using Google AdWords.

Working and Winning with an Agency: A Fireside Chat

Bickey Russell,
Head of Channel Managed Agencies, Google

We know small businesses can be hesitant about spending with an agency. We’ll discuss best approaches to working with an agency and what resources the Google is providing agencies to help their clients succeed.

“Gleeks” Love Social Media Advertising
Have you caught an episode of Glee? If not, you’re missing out on what tons of fans (self-proclaimed “Gleeks”) are watching. The show has been on Fox for a year now and has received critical praise from viewers and critics alike. The show basically follows fictional high school characters while incorporating reworked versions of songs like “Hello Goodbye”, “Halo” and “Like a Prayer”. Doesn’t everyone like a good cover song? Each episode boosts Glee’s single, as well as the original song, on the iTunes charts. After the homage episode to Madonna, the material girl saw a 44% increase in her catalog of songs! It doesn’t just stop at TV time though. A look at Glee’s social media advertising shows that they’re very active on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube.

A Haven for Online Viral Marketing
How can a simple song spark an online viral marketing fire? Let’s face it, people adore classic hits. Whether it’s a guilty pleasure or an old favorite, people are more likely to get attached to things that they’re familiar with. Check out the cast’s version of Journey’s hit. What do you think? These new renditions have inspired fans to record and upload their own versions of the songs. MySpace even held a Glee karaoke contest. But it doesn’t just stop there. Glee is one of the most tweeted about shows ever! As if they needed to gain more momentum, Glee held a contest for their die-hard fans last summer. Fans would register their social media accounts and gain points every time they mentioned Glee. The contest was a success and the fan with the most points won a trip to meet the cast.
Glee and the Fox Network have done an amazing job at keeping fans happy this past year. Let’s see if they can keep people interested with the upcoming season!

Just this morning, we sat in on a webinar titled, “PPC Negative Keywords: Maximizing the Positive Effect”. It was hosted by Marin Software and Ken Jurina, the co-founder and CEO of of Epiar, Inc. Here are some of the gems we plucked from our experience – some we know, but some of it was a kick in the pants to spend more time thinking negative.

An interesting reverse logic idea that was mentioned: you may want to consider using negative keywords for legitimate terms. Maybe these terms are spending a lot of money and bringing lots of traffic but they are expensive and converting poorly. Other great reasons to use negative keywords are:

Expensive conversions

Expensive clicks

Limited budget

Bad brand association

Not relevant for the user

Quality improvements

Lowering costs

An important, sometimes hard to find tidbit for each of the search engines is: What are their negative keyword limits?

With Google – 10,000 negative keywords in Ad Campaign or 5,000 at Ad Group Level

A major lesson seemed to be that ultimately, a combination of exact phrase broad and maximized negative keywords is the best way to target paid search. Keep in mind that negative keywords have no impact on exact match terms.

So – I’m sold on the idea of switching to more broad and phrase matching and adding negative keywords to all of my accounts. After adding broad and phrase match and negative keywords, what can I expect?

Your ads will now appear on the relevant long tail phrases

Your ads will get better exposure to better prospects, which means increased leads and increased revenue!

You can now advertise on long tail phrases where your competitors dare not tread, meaning more cheap clicks for you without the dangers of broad match.

Once your ads get impressions deep into the long tail phrases, your advertising reach may double, triple, or more!

OK – great, now how do I build these lists? What tools are there for me to use?

Manually, using intuition and industry knowledge.

Scan through past referring phrases that did not convert, had bounce rates or were trash

Just heard through the search marketing grapevine that Google is starting to include local results for search queries that they think you’d like to see local results. Try a search for “cars” and half way down you’ll see local results based on where you’re searching. This is based off the IP of your computer where you’re searching from so if you’re surfing the net from your office and the network has a block of IPs from a provider out of state you will most likely receive results based off of where that IP is located.

So with this in mind it will become more important to make sure your business is listed in Google Local. Click here if you need to get listed in Google Local.

We had a great turnout for our event last week. Please contact us if you’d like to be on our mailing list of free workshops. The next event will be held in early January. You can view a short video recap of the event here and also see the slides from the event below.